Trib Talk

Friday

Aug 4, 2017 at 1:01 AM

If the city of Columbia is really interested in making Business Loop 70 more attractive and appealing to residents and visitors, they need to start by getting the business owners in that area to maintain and improve their own properties. Most of the businesses in that area are badly in need of improvements. Many have overgrown grass and weeds with parking lots in bad condition. Most have made little attempt make their own property attractive.

I would like to know why the county spending all this money on resurfacing all these side roads off Route B. There was nothing wrong with the roads they have done. I live on one of them! Need to be spending it on Route B. Make it four lanes to Hallsville, and on the shoulders. Route B has all kinds of potholes and the shoulders or in terrible shape.

I am so upset that Mike Matthes wants to raise the price to disabled people on paratransit to a $3 fee instead of $2. He must not realize how hard it is on disabled people, with our caregiver fees, medical fees, supplies we have to have, food we have to buy etc. While he is putting steak in his mouth with his salary of $165,000 (my income is less than $20,000) I have to eat a baloney sandwich that I paid $1 for on sale, but that won't bother him because he has that steak in his mouth. Shame on you Mr. Matthes picking on the disabled for an extra dollar. Charge all these people who get to ride free that extra dollar or the students a quarter they ride free also to make up your short fall, better yet give back to the people the last raise you got.

This is for people who are wondering about what ID to take to the polls in August. You can use the same ID you've always used. Preferably it should have a picture on it, like your driver's license or your passport or a non-driver's state ID. But if you don't have one of those, anything with your picture on it will do. They just need to ascertain that you're the person you say you are. If you don't have a photo ID you can vote through a different process. So go to the polls with whatever ID you've always used. You can look it up on the Secretary of State -- Missouri website.

If anyone is wondering why the Fulton Medical Center, formerly Callaway County Hospital, is having to close after such a very long time of successful service to the community, it is purely a Republican caused event. First, the refusal to accept federal support of expanded Medicaid in Missouri meant the hospital had fewer paying patients and more unreimbursed care. Secondly, the pattern of extreme serial budget cuts to the University meant that the University was forced to withdraw from their role in trying to revitalize the hospital. Several non-partisan studies predicted that Missouri's unwillingness to adapt to our nation's health care plan would lead to the closing of several smaller community hospitals. This one is not the only one in Missouri, nor will it be the last. Osage Hospital in Osceola, Parkland Hospital in Farmington and Southeast Health Center of Reynolds County in Ellington have already closed. There are several other small hospitals in the mid-Missouri area which are at risk. You can vote based on the pleasing lies you hear if you want to, but the chickens are coming home to roost.

If you can't navigate a simple roundabout it's way past time for someone to take away your car keys.

Across the United States, as well as here in the city of Columbia, a small but loud minority segment of the population always demands change. The funny thing is the city can change their priorities but the group still complains about priorities. The police can change policies but the group still complains about policies. The community can band together to try to start programs but the same groups are still complaining about the programs. It's kind of interesting that they don't want the change while they demand that everybody else accommodate them with change. Could that be the reason why we don't get anywhere as a city or a state or a nation with regard to racial and economic social disparities? Just something to think about.

I don't know anything about Terry Schlemeier but his op-eds are becoming the best in your Trib panel of commentators. That article he wrote a while back on health care was right on target and today's history of U.S.-Russia relations ought to be taken as a warning to our leaders. Plus his analogy between Nixon's Watergate response and our current President's attempt to bastardize the free press is quite instructive. Tell Terry to keep up the good work.